All articles by Jo Tacon
Jo Tacon
The changing face of motor finance
The changing face of motor finance Jo Tacon reports from the Motor Finance Europe conference in London When the theme of the 2008 Motor Finance Europe conference was decided upon, the landscape within the industry looked decidedly different to how it appears now A year ago, motor financiers and lessors were concerned about differentiating themselves from the competition, and turning a profit in sophisticated markets where new channels – primarily internet-based – were causing upset to the established players
Ford dealer Ringways gets £15m funding
The independent Ford main dealership group Ringways has received £15m in new funding from Bank of Scotland Dealer Finance (BoSDF), it was announced, as part of a restructuring of its funding package The Leeds office of Bank of Scotland Commercial Business and the BoSDF team worked together to create the package, the bank said, which will give Ringways greater flexibility and lower borrowing costs. Gwyn Jones, associate new business director at Bank of Scotland said that the restructuring process was facilitated by the banks one-team approach, which helped to provide a real understanding of the dealers needs, trading trends and the kind of business they are in.
Profit fall for finance captive
Profit fall for finance captive Ford Motor Credit saw its profits for full-year 2007 tumble by nearly 40 per cent to $775m (£398m), from $1.3bn (£659m) in 2006 The steep fall was caused by a higher costs of borrowing for the captive, a higher rate of depreciation for leased vehicles and the non-recurrence of credit loss reserve reductions, Ford Credit said
Worrying signs
Worrying signs Motor Finances consultant editor Brian Rogerson is not the alarmist kind, so when he mentions that the gathering clouds of the credit crisis may spark a recession, its worth taking notice He says: As fallout from the credit derivatives crisis, LIBOR has risen to some 115 basis points 6.9 per cent above the Bank of England base rate which is currently 5.75 per cent
Capital allowances changes will only affect new leases
Capital allowances changes will only affect new leases The governments proposed changes to business car capital allowances, which come into effect on April 1 2009, will not affect leased cars on contracts taken out before that date, the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) has uncovered. The changes to capital allowances will hit higher-polluting cars: writing-down allowances for leased cars which emit over 160gkm of CO2 will be cut from 20 per cent per year (itself a reduction, as of April 1 2008, from 25 per cent per year prior to this date) to 10 per cent.
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Fleets feeling impact of credit squeeze
Fleets feeling impact of credit squeeze Fleet consultancy Colin Tourick & Associates Ltd has carried out a vox pop of leading contract hire companies to find out how their businesses have been affected by the ongoing credit crunch.
Fleet fuel fears
Fleet fuel fears GE Fleets quarterly Company Car Trends report has found that fleets car choices are increasingly influenced by the rising cost of fuel. When asked what factors were likely to affect their fleet policy in the next 12 months, 96.9 per cent of respondents mentioned fuel prices, up 11.2 per cent year on year, GE Fleet revealed
New horizons for leasing veteran
New horizons for leasing veteran Jo Tacon talks to Gerry Moon, newly-appointed commercial director of Zenith Vehicle Contracts, about changing sectors, the Provecta acquisition and offering clients a total mobility solution It is a given that Gerry Moon, the new commercial director at Zenith Vehicle Contracts, is one of them, as he moved recently from the position of CEO of Fortis Lease UK, a significant bank-owned lessor, to Zenith, an independent vehicle management and fleet leasing company
Insurer acquires Warranty Direct
The insurance arm of BNP Paribas, Cardif Pinnacle has acquired internet-based warranty provider Warranty Direct, for an undisclosed sum Both companies operate through affinity partners and motor dealers through dealer warranty programmes, Cardif said.
Leasedrive VELO: Not for sale?
Following recent press reports that Leasedrive VELO, the fleet management and leasing business owned by private equity house Lyceum Capital, is to be sold in the near future, Roddy Graham, commercial director of Leasedrive VELO told Motor Finance that he could neither confirm nor deny the rumours: There is nothing to report about a possible sale of Leasedrive VELO at this time.